Impressions of USA

[Daffy Duck]

Had the best steak ever in a small town called Riverton in the middle of nowhere in Wyoming and hubby had the best snow crab legs there, even though we were nowhere near the ocean!

Quarter pound lobsters in New England are fantastic as well.

If you want to eat rubbish, then the US is fine, but if you go further afield than the big cities, you can find some mighty fine grub.

 

[pastafarian]

I don't have personal experience but this looks classic America

wot no cheese??

 

[Dowling93]

If anybody on here watches Man vs Food you will know how big some of the dishes they have there are! haha

 

[beorhthelm]

In Amarillo there was a place that offered a 72oz steak how anybody could eat that I don't know.

i believe with a fork and steak knife is traditional.

 

[Uwinsc]

I have been to Portland, Oregon 3 times now to stay with family and when we are out and about I can't say that I have noticed an enormous difference in the number of obese people. I have an extensive family over there and I wouldn't call any of them obese although 1 was headed that way but has lost a lot of weight in the last 2 years. Yes I ate a lot of junk food when eating out but that was because i was on holiday not worrying about what I ate. I also went to several large supermarket type shops and although given the size of the shop the amount of fresh vegetables on sale was smaller than I would have expected they were there and there was quite a lot of frozen and tinned veg. As I am on a gluten free diet food out there for me was really great, much more choice than over here.

 

[JJ McClure]

I loved Nashville, I reckon i could live there. Memphis was a shock I didn't expect so much poverty and begging on the streets.

Agree with that. I thought Nashville was a really nice clean city. Memphis on the other hand is probably the only place I've been where I've felt unsafe... well Memphis and some parts of Sheffield, but yeah I really didn't enjoy it at all.

 

[elninobonito]

Travel to the US quite regualry with work, was in San Diego and LA last week and its not all fast food. you can find some really great restaurants and sandwhich shops all over the place. The thing with the Us I find is that there really is something for every budget!
Your not going to find greens in KFC or Taco bell are you, even the Cheesecake factory have decent healthy meals!
Every fast food place has to advertise the calories of a meal in the US now anyway so you can see what you are consuming before you do.

Most of the cars are a lot bigger then ours, I was renting a ford focus and was a whole lot bigger then my focus over here!

The US is great, you have to embrac their culture, its very different to ours but a great country....enjoy it while you are there.

 

[Gregory2Smith1]

they do have big portions,rare for me to leave anything on the plate,but did in the US

still the best country i have visited

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

Just like in the UK if you bother to go off piste to real smalltown USA you will find some great food. One of the best quality and good value meals ever had anywhere in the world was at a simple local pub in Calistoga near San Fransciso where they BBQ everything in their backyard over looking a river and vineyards. Great relaxed atmosphere, brilliant beer (even to a Harveys fan) and local wines, with the best steak, garlic mash, fresh local veggies and desserts. Really good crowd and nice live music. Stayed the night in an immaculate and quaint room (not en-suite!) above the pub so could get completely bladdered. The breakfast was historic too. Fabulous.

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

In their commercial (advert) breaks, the first one is usually for Taco Bell/KFC/McDonalds/Subway. followed for an advert for some new diet or exercise machine.

Followed by one for erectile dysfunction - well all that junk food has to affect your performance

 

[Notters]

Just like in the UK if you bother to go off piste to real smalltown USA you will find some great food. One of the best quality and good value meals ever had anywhere in the world was at a simple local pub in Calistoga near San Fransciso where they BBQ everything in their backyard over looking a river and vineyards. Great relaxed atmosphere, brilliant beer (even to a Harveys fan) and local wines, with the best steak, garlic mash, fresh local veggies and desserts. Really good crowd and nice live music. Stayed the night in an immaculate and quaint room (not en-suite!) above the pub so could get completely bladdered. The breakfast was historic too. Fabulous.

Don't suppose you know the name of the place?

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

No shortage of variety of food in New York. Plenty of junk food if that floats your boat, but the choice of good quality ethnic food is staggering and there is also plenty of organic food sourced locally from upstate New York. Also regular farmers markets and even the Amish bring in their farm grown produce. This time of year you can get corn on the cob and just about every berry going right in the middle of NYC. But it’s not just the big American cities that offer this choice I’ve been surprised at what’s available in rural areas, and some of the diners do great food at reasonable prices and look just like they do in the movies.

Plenty of good craft beers available as well, enough to keep even the most jaded CAMRA member happy.

I do love this country!

 

[swindonseagull]

A mate of mine has an American girlfriend and she asks for a doggy bag wherever we go- I take a trip to the toilet to stop myself cringing.

If we go for a curry and its not eaten I ask for a take out(doggy bag) its great the next day, and you have paid for it...

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

Hawaii is the best place I have ever been to, it was perfect. Also south beach Miami, new York, Chicago, LA and Vegas, I love A medics and I am a huge fan of their food, they really know how to cook a steak and how to give people a good time. Wish I could see far more of it, I would love to get off the beaten track and see what thats like.

 

[Raleigh Chopper]

Hawaii is the best place I have ever been to, it was perfect. Also south beach Miami, new York, Chicago, LA and Vegas, I love A medics and I am a huge fan of their food, they really know how to cook a steak and how to give people a good time. Wish I could see far more of it, I would love to get off the beaten track and see what thats like.

 

[omgitsjames]

I wonder where the people complaining about US food are eating at... A lot of "American" food comes from a multi-ethnic base such as cal-mex or tex-mex cuisine so don't limit yourself to hamburgers and hot dogs unless of course you are at a baseball game. In which case it is as quintessential as a pie and pint. Every single Mexican restaurant in the UK I've been to was absolutely rubbish, so if any of you swing by to this side of the world, you HAVE to try real mexican/fusion-mexican foods. However, I do completely agree that US fast food is awful compared to the European versions of the same company, avoid BK/KFC/Mcdonalds/Taco Bell at all costs!!!!

 

[willyfantastic]

I wonder where the people complaining about US food are eating at... A lot of "American" food comes from a multi-ethnic base such as cal-mex or tex-mex cuisine so don't limit yourself to hamburgers and hot dogs unless of course you are at a baseball game. In which case it is as quintessential as a pie and pint. Every single Mexican restaurant in the UK I've been to was absolutely rubbish, so if any of you swing by to this side of the world, you HAVE to try real mexican/fusion-mexican foods. However, I do completely agree that US fast food is awful compared to the European versions of the same company, avoid BK/KFC/Mcdonalds/Taco Bell at all costs!!!!

There's an amazing Mexican restaurant in Canterbury

 

[RexCathedra]

I've only been to California, Nevada and Hawaii but some of my observations were:
1. There is a real lack of Indian restaurants in all the cities I visited and the average Yank is unfamiliar with curry and doesn't like spicy food.

This is changing insofar as there are three or four Indian restaurants, and one "Brit-Indian" restaurant, within a half-hour of here, 'here' being a small (6,000) town in SW Maine. Hell, the same town has two Chinese (one takeaway/downmarket, one sit-down/upmarket) and a Thai place.

 

[brakespear]

4. One of the very god things that our pubs and bars should follow if you buy a coke or sprite they continually refill the glass for as long as you are in the bar. At the minimal cost of post-mix syrup our pubs could easily follow suit but we are money grabbing It would certainly help to eradicate drink driving.

Some restaurants here already do this - the carvery at Lyons Farm in Worthing does and that's part of a chain (can't remember which) so presumably the same at all outlets.

 

[Jam The Man]

I've been to the States 5 or 6 times (Dallas / Fort Worth & Scottsdale) and found the hospitality to be better than anywhere else in the world I've experienced